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Political law links, 11/2/12

RELEASE THE ORCA. Story here. “Project ORCA will rely on 34,000 volunteers in swing states on Election Day, in an effort to keep track of who is voting at key polling places. Romney staffers will use the data to help them target their get-out-the-vote efforts before the polls close, in hopes of gaining an edge over Obama’s grassroots operation.”

VOTING MACHINE LETTERS. Story here. “The Republican National Committee sent letters to election officials in Nevada and three other swing states on Thursday alleging ‘a significant number of cases’ where voting machines cast ballots for President Barack Obama when the vote was intended for his Republican challenger, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.”

EMANUEL AND SUPER PAC.Politico. “Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been calling labor unions over the past week and making a forceful case that they contribute six-figures and up to President Barack Obama’s super PAC, multiple sources tell POLITICO.”

AFJ ON IS REPORT.Here. “The Independent Sector report is a well-intentioned effort to bring to the fore the often neglected subject of the importance of funder support for advocacy work, and to inspire greater activity by both grantmakers and the full range of nonprofit organizations themselves. However, from our reading we think the report has some weaknesses in its methodology and conclusions.”

CA: LOBBYIST EMPLOYER FIGURES.LA Times. “California’s 10 biggest-spending special interest groups paid lobbyists about $57 million to lobby the Legislature, the governor’s administration and other state agencies.”

CA: CASE A TEST. Story here. “The court case involving an Arizona group’s $11 million contribution to two California ballot measure campaigns may not be resolved by Election Day. But it’s turned into a crucial test of California’s campaign finance system.”

ME: MORE ON MAINE MATTER. Story here. “The Democratic state Senate candidate whose participation in the online game World of Warcraft became the subject of Republican Party attacks last month has been cleared of wrongdoing by the state ethics commission in response to a Republican complaint that she improperly coordinated with two political action committees to solicit campaign contributions.”

ND: RECOUNT PROSPECTS. Story here. “Both Democrats and Republicans are busy preparing to wake up Wednesday having to wage legal fights in both North Dakota and Montana, which share small electorates and very close Senate races. North Dakota has the prospect of being a much more open-ended mess if lawyers for candidates Rick Berg and Heidi Heitkamp start challenging the eligibility of those who cast ballots: The state is the only one with no voter registration.”

AUSTRALIA: FAMILY LOBBYING ISSUES. Story here. “A Queensland government minister has banned his son from lobbying his office, saying he believed such contact would be inappropriate.”